Opening of the Jean Bishop Integrated Care Centre in Hull first of its kind in the UK

The Jean Bishop Integrated Care Centre (ICC) in Hull was officially opened on Friday 6th July 2018 during the week the NHS celebrates its 70th birthday.

This innovative new facility, the first of its type in the UK, was opened by Jean Bishop, Hull’s Bee Lady, in front of 100 guests, and is set to transform care for older people in Hull by providing out of hospital care, reducing unnecessary hospital admissions, enabling residents to keep fit, healthy and living independently in their own homes.

In a new and unique approach to health and care, the groundbreaking services and new clinically led team will primarily treat 12,000 frail older people in Hull with long term conditions who have been assessed by their GP as being at risk of hospital admission.

Dr Dan Harman, Consultant Geriatrician at City Health Care Partnership CIC who run the services in the centre explains:

“It’s a totally different way of caring for patients. A member of our team visits the patient in their own home to undertake an assessment and identify issues that the patient wishes to discuss with the team when they attend the ICC. These issues often range from concerns about their health, social interaction or anything they are struggling with. Not only does this help the patient and carer understand what to expect at the ICC but it also helps us identify which members of the team they need to see.”

The Centre has a comprehensive specialist team including Older People’s Consultants/Geriatricians, Advance Nurse Practitioners, GPs, Pharmacists, Therapists, Social Workers and the voluntary sector. There are diagnostics at the centre enabling the team to undertake blood tests, x-rays and in the future CT scans.

Dan continues:

“Straight away you can tell it’s different as you wouldn’t see all those people in a hospital outpatient clinic at once, it brings everyone together in one place. A hospital admission is often a flashpoint in people’s lives, often when they have a crisis, and it can be difficult to identify their needs at that time. The care at the ICC feels different as it is about prevention and working in a proactive way. At the end of their visit to the ICC the patient is given a copy of their care plan to take home with them, knowing they’ve been listened to and having a plan and support in place which will be implemented and monitored.”

“We wanted the centre to be welcoming and warm and have had great feedback so far. It enhances the healing environment, it’s relaxed, calm and dementia friendly. It’s about working together to agree and deliver the best care for the patient”.

The centre, which sits on the site of the former David Lister School in East Hull has been open since May 2018. In the longer term the aim is to reduce unplanned admissions by up to 20%. This has been forecasted to save the NHS up to £5.8 million, which the CCG says it could then reinvest in new services.

Humberside Fire and Rescue also has an operational fire station on site and provide a falls response team as well as responding to other fire and rescue incidents. Discussions are underway to explore the crews also supporting rehabilitation and recovery of patients.

“We have worked closely with our health partners since the initial concept was discussed to create an environment to further our ‘Safe and Well’ initiative which sees fire crews working with the socially isolated and reducing the risk of falls in the home. I look forward to the centre being the catalyst for further collaboration on innovative new projects in the future.”

The NHS Hull CCG Board has chosen to recognise the outstanding contribution of Jean Bishop, Hull’s ‘Bee Lady’, a 96-year-old champion fundraiser for older people, by naming the ICC after her. Jean is a Freeman of the City of Hull, was awarded a British Empire Medal earlier this year, and has individually raised more than £125,000 for Age UK.

“We know people don’t want to be in hospital unless they absolutely need to be. We have listened to this and have developed a fantastic new facility that can support people to remain independent wherever possible.

It’s such a wonderful service and provides everything I would want for my own family – human kindness, the time to listen and to identify what’s important for each individual person. The new service has been meticulously planned and thought through, from the café run by a local charity providing bite size meals for patients, through to the diagnostic testing and the specialist team in place. I’m so proud that through our partnerships we’ve been able to make this happen – Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals, City Healthcare Partnership, the local authority, the fire service, our development partners Citycare and voluntary and charity organisations, all working together to make sure people get the best possible care.”

“Jean Bishop has been an ambassador for Age UK for so many years and we are delighted to open the new centre in Jean’s name to truly recognise what she has done for this city. The ethos behind the ICC is about keeping people fit and well and able to stay living happily and independently – Jean is a brilliant advocate for this.”

Hull City Council provided the land for the facility, as well as the adjacent Newbridge Village social housing scheme for over 65s, and council leader Councillor Stephen Brady said care services must continue to evolve to ensure the best possible support is available to vulnerable residents:

“The Jean Bishop Integrated Care Centre will be incredibly important for this area and I am delighted to see the scheme come to fruition.

“This facility will transform the way we care for some of the elderly people living in Hull. This and the Newbridge Village development represent a link between good housing and health and wellbeing in what is a real first in the provision of healthcare in the city.”

The ICC is the first capital project to be completed since the Health and Social Care Act came into force in 2012. It is the thirteenth building to be developed under the LIFT public private partnership scheme in the city, overseen by the CCG’s development partners Citycare. Alan Johnson, Citycare’s Independent Chair, said:

“It is fantastic to celebrate the remarkable partnership between the NHS, local authority, fire and rescue service, and all of the other providers at the grand opening of the Jean Bishop Integrated Care Centre.

“Whilst creating flexible estate solutions, it is about giving the NHS the best quality and designing a building which can be flexible around services for decades to come.

I’d like to thank our partners and everyone involved for bringing this to fruition.”